RY) [ a) OUD | id Y ANDREW DuBROCK PLAYGUITAR! Unlock the flowing rhythm of Coldplay's “Clocks” with Yael eraeat) COLDPLAY'S CLIMB to soperstaxt then, the B lege oma, end fingerpl you a m help convince potential can play guitar!Before we start, you'll need to know the common way righl-hand fingers are labeled in guitar notation: p=thumb 1=index m=middle a=ting I you're trying to figure out where the p in thumb is, you're not the first English- speaking person to wonder. The letters refer to Spanish words used in classical notation: p is for pulgar, J is for indice, m is for medio, and a is for anular. We'te not ‘going to use your sing finger (a) in this les- ‘son, but itl likely make an appearance in your future fingerpicking career. Basic Patterns Now that you know why p means thumb, let's put those fingers to work. Look at Example 1 on page 21. First, form a D chord with your left hand (if you're not sure how to make a D chord shape, see page 12}. Next, rest the tingors of your | ) | will stay on these strings throughout the whole song. so ‘once you get comfortable playing om these strings, you are well on your way. A.Look at Rhythm Let's take a moment to check out the shythm in Example 1. Here, you are pick- ing quarter notes on the beat. That means that if you tapped your foot along with your fingers (or counted “one two thee four") in this example, you would tap at the exact same time you picked each String. Once you're comfortable tapping along, let's add in the thumb, as shown in Example 2, The eymbol at the end of the ‘moasuro is a rest (a quarter-nete rest, to be exact) which means you don't play any- thing on the fourth beat (your foot will tap all by itself, In Example 3, we'ze going to got id of the rest and just repeat those throe notes over and over. (The thick double bars and dots that bracket either end of this and the DAVID DUERAS BEGAN PLAYING the guitar cot age 12 at the Guam Academy of Music cond Arts. He has performed throughout the US and in Europe. He teaches at Sonta Clare University in Colton. play the next note with your index fingex more lightly then reach down for the note with your thumb and accent that one, and $0 on. The tough part here is that you'll be accenting different fingers at different times, Just keep trying it: I promise il get ‘easier with the next example, ‘Why is it going to get easier? Well, now you're going to play eighth notes, This means that you're going to play two notes fot every time you tap your foot. This also ‘means that every time you tap your foot you'll accent a note, Play Example § and ee what I'm talking about Finding and Changing Chords OK, let's get comfortable fingerpicking that same pattern on the other chords you'll need for “Clocks.” Example 6 applies the pat (Am), and Example 7 applies it to an E-minor (Em) chord (see page 15 if you need to review those chord shapes). Now en to an A-minor chordthis means you'll “let go" of the first chord a little early. Check out Example 9 on page 22; the last note of every measure is an open third string. As you pick it, release your left hand and use that half socond to get your left-hand fingers in place for the next chord. You may notice that the open sizing is a different note than you'd nor- mally play for the D or Am chord, but rover fear it sounds just fine, Once you've mastered the D-Am switch, try changing between Am and Em (Example 10) and between Em and D (Example 11), In Em, that last picked note is an open string any~ ‘way: 80 those switches should be a little easier. With that cool chord-changing shortout ‘as fodder for thought, you may wonder why bother making the full chord shapes at all when you're only picking come of tho fretted notes? The answer is that you ‘might ax well, since it will set you up for ‘some cool fingerpicking patterns (includ- ing one more in this article) that do use mote of those fretted notes. ANew Chord You now have all the chords under your belt to pley the verses and choruses of “Clocks,” but when you reach the bridge section, youll find an F chord staring you down. To make it, place your left index finger on the first fret of the second string, your middle finger on the second fret of the third stzing, and your ring finger on the F 1932 third fret of the fourth string. (You may have seen this chord ‘with the first finger also playing tho fixst frot of the first string, kind of flattoned across the fingerboard to get two notes. If you already play this chord, go ahead and play it, but you don't really need that top note for the pattern we're using.) Now you're ready for Example 12, which applies our fingerpick- ing pattern to this F chord. Examples 13, and 14 apply the pattern to the other two chords in the bridge—C and G. Here We Go Now le’s look at the complete transcrip: tion of “Clocks” on page 24. You can play through the piace just fine using the pat- Ex.2 Ex.S PLAYGUITAR! aterm you've already learned, but the sharp- eyed among you will spy some notes (the ones with the stems going down) that we haven't talked about yet, These notes spice up our pattern abit, and to play them you have to use a technique called a pinch. ‘This move requires your thumb to pluck a bass string at the same time as your mid dle finger plays ite note. Try st and you'll feel the pinching motion that's required. For the D and F chords the thumb picks the fourth string, for the Am and C i's the fifth, and for the Em and G the sixth. That may sound difficult, but the only difference between this and the pattern you've learned is thet hore your thumb also plays on the fist beat. So, whether you pinch or not, start picking "Clocks" by playing the first four measures, then repeat them. (On the recording, Coldplay plays this intro for twice as long, but they've got the benelit of a dra matic piano intro and gradual band buildup.) Next, play the first verse and chorus with that same repeating pattern underneath. At the end of the fisst chorus, you'll run into the marking “D.C. (lirst time).” D.C. stands for da capo, which Ex.9 mipmipmi oo _|s oof a 2 mipmipmi omit 3 2 “Drops of Jupiter” by Train “Fly Amey" by Lenny Kravitz “Hey Jude” by the Beatles “One of Us" by Joan Osborne “The Weight” by the Band means “from the beginning” in Italian, so go back to the very beginning of the song. Play all the way through the intro, second, verse, and second chorus, until you hit that D.C. mark again. This time, continue on through the extended chorus, After that chorus, you'll reach the bridge—the first (and only) time you'll play the F-C-G progression. After the bridge, return to Ex.10 OGHEP PINDEPPIEKING SONGS Hf you're scouting around for songs to play fingerstyle, you've got endless optionsfram classical and folk to blues, jaz, and op—and you don't have to open just the “acoustic guitar” drawer to find ther. For example, “Clocks' was originaly played. ‘on piano, but it sounds great on an acoustic guitar At a loss for where to star? Here are @ few songs that would work well: “A Sorta Fairytale” by Tori Amos "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day “Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World “Sweet Child o' Mine” by Guns‘ Roses ere rete a Fe 4 rs that old familiar D-Am-Em progression to close out with the last chorus, You did it! Now you're ready to sere- nade your sweetie from bebind the bushes ‘with your new fingerpicking skills, If you ‘want to play this In the same key Coldplay does, put a capo on the first fret—or try putting it in different places until the key is comfortable for your singing voice. + PLAYGUITAR!Lessons | CLOCKS Words and music by Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will Champion, and Chris Martin Am Chorde: fits fi) fe Sit Verse ee ie a 2 ‘ ~ ‘ Po wonte 60. out anos arie OAD. =| We TTY” woman. Me urs 2. ute i oe # @ Em se op ozo PUT ME DOWN —UP-ON MY KNEES OH —-1BEG «1 BEG AND PLEAD__—SING-ING 24 PLAYGUITAR!Atv 3 —= | enor AN AP LE OFF MY HEAD AND i SS SS oT tore pt tor er f = 1 oe] i = ro é — 2 a tin oa i =o = vad = * ‘TROU-BLE THAT ING TO BE TAMED__— SING-ING 6a . = == oF Por =F an a , Ae . B ge 7 wey T ra SHES Fee = TT ; ia = i ° 33 — Hy a i PLAYGUITAR!AND NOT TBEG AND PLEAD OME OUT OF THING A Bridge SHOOT AN APPLE OFF MY HEAD AND NOTHING ELSE COMPARES AND A TROUBLE THAT CAN'T BE NAMED DH NO NOTHING ELSE COMPARE! THE Tl ITING TO BE TAMED, SINGING AND NOTHING ELSE COMPARES YOU ARE, YOU HOME, HOME, /ANTED 0 GO HOME, HOME, /ANTED TO HOME, HOME, /ANTED DME, HOME, IWANTED 70 GO COULD No SINGING "COME OUT UPON MY 6 CURSE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES AM |/A PART OR AM | PART OF THE DISEASE, SING PLAYGUITAR